Authentic in Authenticity: The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes on Screen

:Authentic in Authenticity: The Evolution of Sherlock Holmes on ScreenAll authorsStephen Joycehttps://doi.org/10.1080/01956051.2017.1319236Published online:11 July 2017Sherlock (PBS) TV Series Season 4. Episode 0: The Abominable Bride, January 1, 2016. Shown: Benedict Cumberbatch (as Sherlock Holmes). Photo courtesy of PBS/Photofest.Sherlock (PBS) TV Series Season 4. Episode 0: The Abominable Bride, January 1, 2016. Shown: Benedict Cumberbatch (as Sherlock Holmes). Photo courtesy of PBS/Photofest.Sherlock Holmes on screen has had a curious evolution. The definitive image of the great detective was long held to be Basil Rathbone's portrayal in a series of films made during World War II. Rathbone's Holmes is an emblem of the industrial age, a man of logic and action, a scientist and a specialist, a man equipped with arcane knowledge and superior powers of deduction. It was this image of Holmes that also inspired Jeremy Brett's grave portrayal in the long-running British TV series from 1984–94. Yet in the twenty-first century Holmes has become less a specialized scientist of crime and more a tormented but entertaining eccentric, as in Sherlock (2010–) or Guy Ritchie's recent films (2009, 2011) or Elementary (2012–). Is the transformation of Holmes simply a desire to reinvent a classic character or does the specific trajectory of that transformation indicate something broader? This article argues that the evolution of Holmes needs to be seen in light of how new media is driving changing fan cultures and how these shifts in reception are altering the image of Holmes to make him a hero for the information age rather than the industrial age.